Introduction
"La Fête Sauvage" (English title “The Wild Nation”) is a wildlife-film by French director Frédéric Rossif, for which Vangelis composed an original score. The film took 4 years to produce before it was released in cinemas in France on February 4th 1976. At the time Vangelis and Frédéric had already worked together on other productions, such as "Georges Mathieu Ou La Fureur d'Être" (1971), "L'Apocalypse Des Animaux" (1973), and "Georges Braque Ou Le Temps Différent" (1974).
The film La Fête Sauvage, which was co-funded by the production company of Sergio Leone, the famous Italian director and good friend of Frédéric Rossif, is considered one of Rossif’s best works and was well received both by critics and audiences worldwide. In France the film still ranks in the top 10 of best wildlife-films in the box office.
The music for La Fête Sauvage was recorded in December 1975 in Vangelis’ Nemo studios, when Frédéric Rossif and Dominique Caseneuve, the chief editor of the film, went to London. They screened a ‘silent’ copy of the film to Vangelis, who then set to work to compose the music. Final mixing of the film and music was done in Paris, and about this process Dominique Caseneuve remembered: "some of Vangelis' compositions were so beautiful that it was hard to cut them! Once, we had to modify the editing accordingly, by lengthening or adding a few images to a shot, so that they could ultimately perfectly match Vangelis' music."
The music of La Fête Sauvage is divided among both the film and Vangelis’ album, sharing the main theme of the film, but also having plenty of music appearing exclusively in either the film or on the album. In 2014 a restored version of the film was re-released in cinema’s in France, as well as on DVD and Blu-Ray by Editions Zoroastre. This digital release includes a seperate audio track with all the music of the film without the voice-over narration.
Other wildlife documentary series and films by Frédéric Rossif for which Vangelis composed an original score include "L'Apocalypse Des Animaux" (1973), "L'Opera Sauvage" (1976) and "Sauvage Et Beau" (1984).
Details and credits
- Title: La Fête Sauvage
- Year: 1976
- Country: France
- Length: 89 minutes
- Released: 4th of February 1976
- Format: 16mm color film
- Directed by Frédéric Rossif
- Assistent director: Jean-Charles Cuttoli
- Assistent director in South Africa: Reynold Thaumuller
- Music by Vangelis Papathanassiou
- Text by Madeleine Chapsal
- Dialog by Evelyne Dress, Gérard Falconetti and Myriam Mézieres
- Director of photography: Bernard Zitzermann
- Camera: Daniel Barrau
- Sound engineer: Pierre Boucat
- Chief editor: Dominique Caseneuve
- Assistant editors: Pauline Leroy and Uziel Péres
- Mixes: Elvire Lerner, Studio Antégor
- Producer: Michelle Wiart
- Production assistant: Zia Bietrix
- Produced by Télé Hachette and Rafran Cinématografica spa
Media
DVD and Blu-Ray
- 2014 Editions Zoroastre (France). Buy here!
VHS
- Cassette Video Hachette WE 802 (France) SECAM
- Belgium Production Video (Belgium) PAL
Synopsis
"Frédéric Rossif specialized in two types of documentary: the historic documentary: "Mourir à Madrid" (1963) and the second one concerns animals. Here, "La Fête Sauvage" ranks in the second quoted type. It's obvious that Rossif takes pleasure in filming animals. His documentary articulates and focuses on several key-moments in the life of an animal: love and its rituals, the anxiety of death, the hunting of the different carnivorous ( the lion, the cheetah, the tiger etc...). If Rossif favours the use of a slow camera, it's precisely in the goal of a better observation of the animal in its action and (why not?) in its living environment. Sometimes, the film-maker tries to define the animal's feelings. Besides, no matter who the animals are because Rossif never favours any animal. He simply films them with much distance as possible. We are under the impression that the movie searches for the aesthetic beauty and it reaches its goal. This beauty expresses itself by some sumptuous pictures and they create a entrancing climate supported by Vangelis' fascinating music. The best sequence is probably the wildebeest hunting of the two lionesses. Even if the comments told are sometimes difficult to understand, they're a good way to enrich your culture of the world animal. At the end, this is a beautiful book of pictures and the work of a keen filmmaker who showed patience. If you wish to discover other Rossif's animal documentaries, try "Les Animaux" or "Sauvage Et Beau". (D.B. Dumonteil)
Links
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